Looking to switch from UserZoom to another user testing tool? Here are 6 alternatives to UserZoom offering efficient user testing while being easier to pay for than their competitor.

So, you came here looking for UserZoom alternatives that can offer a similar quality of user tests all the while allowing you to spot usability issues on your website, app or early prototype without having to pay for a year up front?

An Overview of UserZoom

The company was founded in 2007 to offer Experience Insights Management (XIM) solutions to digital teams and businesses.

Screenshot: go.userzoom.com

What is it that makes UserZoom so popular?

UserZoom is a cloud-based user experience solution. You can gather user feedback via testing, surveys, audio feedback, video feedback, and more. It also offers tools for participant sourcing, usability benchmarking, informative architecture research, dashboard creation, and more.

But UserZoom isn’t for everyone.

A lot of users criticize the outdated interface of UserZoom and problems when it comes to recording the screen

The tool’s biggest drawback is that contracts are billed annually starting at $3,588 per year. In addition, the monthly plans put a limit on the number of people who can create or launch studies. If you need more, you’ll  have to pay more.

This pricing system can be expensive and harder to justify, especially for small teams and startups.

The best-rated alternatives to UserZoom with better payment options

Knowing that UserZoom isn’t the best user testing tool for every company, we’ve put together the following list of the best available and more affordable UserZoom competitors and alternatives:

• Userbrain
• Lookback
• UsabilityHub
• Userlytics
• UserTesting
• Loop11

Without further ado, let’s dive into the six best competitors to UserZoom’s user research software:

1 Userbrain | userbrain.com

Of course we’re going to place our own software at the top of the list. We’d be silly not to, wouldn’t we?
If you’re satisfied with UserZoom but paying annually for user testing in longterm doesn’t work for your company, then we’ve got your back!

Pros of Userbrain compared to UserZoom

Userbrain offers a similar feature set to UserZoom user test software. However, there are some benefits including:

• No long-term contracts and monthly paying available– There is a custom pay-as-you-go option that allows you to pay only when you have something to test, monthly subscriptions can be canceled at any time.
• Fast results – You’ll receive your first results within a few hours.
• AI Insights – Analyze user tests in a matter of seconds with Userbrain’s powerful AI assistant. No more note-taking!
• Unlimited team members – no matter how big your team is, you can invite them all to Userbrain and assign roles.

You can create a free account and even get your first test free of charge.

Cons of Userbrain compared to UserZoom

Userbrain is more recently on the market, meaning its feature set is slightly more compact than UserZoom.

• Limited demographic targeting – With Userbrain, you can filter your testers by gender, age, language, region, and device type or recruit your own testers. UserZoom can apply to the tool the criteria you want your testers to have, and they recruit the testers for you.

Userbrain’s pricing in comparison to UserZoom

With UserZoom the cheapest plan starts at $500/month; but keep in mind that all plans are billed annually. Userbrain pricing already starts at just $99 per month – billed monthly or yearly, depending on your preference.

1. There is a pay-as-you go-option for $39 per tester without any subscription nor extra fees.
2. The monthly plans start at $99 per month for 3 tests per month. All unused testers roll over.
3. You can create a free account and get your first test free of charge.
4. When paying yearly, you get 2 months for free.

Here’s what one Userbrain reviewer says about the pricing options:

“The best thing about Userbrain is the pricing structure. It’s also affordable for companies who are testing in small volumes”

2 Lookback | lookback.io

When you already have access to a pool of user test participants and don’t need a tool that provides access to an existing database of testers, Lookback is a great and more affordable alternative to UserZoom.

Screenshot: lookback.io

Pros of Lookback compared to UserZoom

• Remote moderated testing – Lookback allows you to directly talk with participants – live and face-to-face in moderated user tests.
• Broadcast your research –Use the “Live” feature to broadcast your research to your team. Invite them to watch and gain insights.
• Unlimited Collaboration – Lookback offers unlimited collaborator seats, where with UserZoom you only have limited researcher seats with each plan.


Cons of Lookback compared to UserZoom

• No tester pool – While UserZoom provides access to a pool of 120 million testers, you need to invite your own testers via a link to Lookback or recruit them through a 3rd-Party-Solution.
• Connection drops – As Lookback supports live testing with participants there might be connection drops during a session, something which is reported by a couple of reviewers.

Lookback’s pricing in comparison to UserZoom

1. All Lookback Subscriptions are billed annually.
2. Lookback’s Freelance Plan starts with $25/month offering 10 sessions a year.
3. The Team Plan costs $149/month with 100 sessions per year.
4. The Insights Hub Plan costs $344/month and you get 300 sessions per year.
5. There is also an Enterprise Plan with unlimited sessions.
6. There is a 60-day free trial – no credit card required.

3 UsabilityHub | usabilityhub.com

UsabilityHub allows you to run summative studies like first-click and five-second tests, design surveys or preference tests of multiple design solutions. You will receive written answers and can either recruit your own participants or use UsabilityHub’s integrated participant panel.

Screenshot: usabilityhub.com

Pros of UsabilityHub compared to UserZoom

• Starting at $1 per answer – If you don’t need a video and audio recording of your participants and are more interested in running summative studies, you can do so quickly and at a convenient price by using UsabilityHub’s participant panel.
• Full CSV export – UsabilityHub allows you to export the raw test data as a CSV file, so that you can run in-depth analyses with any tool of your choice.
• Buying credits – Credits for tests can be purchased on-the-go when ordering responses or pre-purchased here. Credits do not expire.

Cons of UsabilityHub compared to UserZoom

• No screen and audio recording – UsabilityHub only delivers written answers to your research questions, making it harder to understand the real thoughts of your testers. While with UserZoom, you receive video and audio recordings while your testers complete your tasks.
• No prototype testing – While UsabilityHubs supports running tests of wireframes, you can’t test interactive prototypes built in, e.g., InVision, Sketch, or Figma.
• No multi-site testing – You can’t send testers to another website as part of your test.

UsabilityHub’s pricing in comparison to UserZoom

UsabilityHub’s pricing has two separate components:

1. A plan starting at $79/month, billed monthly or annually.
2. Paying for responses from the UsabilityHub panel starts at $1 per response.

There is a limited free plan which allows you to run tests with a duration of up to 2 mins and a branded interface.

4 Userlytics | userlytics.com

Userlytics offers competitive pricing options for a suite of user research tools at the expense of an outdated user interface.

Screenshot: userlytics.com

Pros of Userlytics compared to UserZoom

• Multiple user research tools in one – With Userlytics, you’ll have access to a suite of user research tools like Card Sorting or Tree Testing besides the classic remote user testing functionality.
• Automated and multilingual transcriptions – You receive an AI-generated searchable transcription of your user test.
• Quantitative metrics – Userlytics offers more sophisticated reporting on quantitative metrics like time on task, SUS, NPS, or SUPR-Q compared to UserZoom.

Cons of Userlytics compared to UserZoom

• Outdated user interface – The user interface is considered old and challenging in terms of usability by a couple of reviewers on G2.
• Complex pricing plans – There are six different pricing tiers all with different options and features. It could be hard to choose the right plan for your needs.
• No demographic information about users – Userlytics doesn’t provide much demographic information about the participants (like income bracket, age and gender).

Userlytics pricing in comparison to UserZoom

As mentioned, the pricing options of Userlytics can be quite hard to decide on. Userlytics offers:

1. Three different Pay as you go plans start at $49/per tester.
2. Three different Subscription plans reach from $399/per month to $999/per month.
3. All subscription plans allow you to test unlimited with testers provided by you or a 3rd party.
4. Custom plan for specific projects and unconventional profiles.

5 UserTesting | usertesting.com

UserTesting is the first unmoderated user testing tool ever and therefore had the time to built up the largest number of participants compared to any other service. According to their own data, UserTesting.com has over 1.5 million participants on their panel. This allows customers to receive very fast feedback, with access to a sophisticated platform with many possibilities to run and analyze their user tests.

Screenshot: usertesting.com

Pros of UserTesting compared to UserZoom

• Unlimited researchers – The new UserTesting plans have no limit on the number of people who can create or launch studies. With UserZoom, you’ll have to pay more if you need more.

Cons of UserTesting compared to UserZoom

• Updated Pricing Model – With UserTesting, if you want to test with more than 15 testers, you need to contact their Sales team for an Enterprise plan. You’ll then be offered an about $18k/year long-term contract. This is much more expensive than UserZoom’s pricing, which starts at $500/month.
• No free trial – Even though the price for UserTesting is very high, there’s no free trial to see if it works for you.
• You can’t your own testers for free – With UserZoom, all monthly plans allow you to use your own testers for your study at no extra cost.

UserTesting’s pricing in comparison to UserZoom

UserTesting offers you two pricing plans:

1. For the Individual solution, you pay $49 per Test; with this plan, you can test with 15 testers in total
2. An Enterprise solution is also offered. Pricing depends on how the plan is tailored.

6 Loop11 | loop11.com

Loop11 is a useful UX tool for benchmarking a site’s KPIs, finding out where exactly users are running into an issue, and gathering quantitative data on UX improvements.

Screenshot: loop11.com

Pros of Loop11 compared to UserZoom

• Monthly billing – You don’t have to pay for a year upfront.
• 5 Second & First Click Tests included – Compared to UserZoom, Loop11 also supports recording qualitative data like heatmaps, clickstreams and path analysis.
• Support for accessibility user testing – Loop11 customers can now tap into the AccessWorks database for all accessibility testing needs, saving time that would otherwise be spent on recruiting testers for face-to-face testing.

Cons of Loop11 compared to UserZoom

• No tester pool – As Loop11 does not offer a pool of testers, you need to send invites to your users to get your study results. UserZoom offers a tester panel of over 120 million users.
• No editing after a test has been launched – You can’t edit a test after publishing it; you can only delete it completely. Thus, you should double-check the test in preview mode before allowing it to go live.

Loop11’s pricing in comparison to UserZoom

Loop11 charges a monthly fee for the platform’s usage that does not include the testers’ remuneration, as you need to provide your own users.

1. Pricing starts at $79/mo for running 3 projects per month with up to 10 testers per project.
2. The pro plan costs $299/mo with 10 projects per month and a maximum of 100 testers.
3. The Enterprise plan allows you to test unlimited, with unlimited projects per month.
4. Plans are cheaper when paying annually.
5. All plans include a 14-day free trial.

Conclusion: choosing the right UserZoom alternative

In conclusion, there are numerous alternatives to UserZoom that cater to different budgets and requirements of UX designers and teams. From Userbrain, which offers flexibility in pricing and monthly billing options, to UsabilityHub, which focuses on summative studies and a more affordable price point, each of these six competitors brings unique features and capabilities to the table. Lookback enables live moderated testing, while Userlytics offers a comprehensive suite of user research tools. UserTesting boasts the largest panel of testers, and Loop11 supports accessibility user testing.

Read more: if you want to find the perfect user testing plan, check out our comprehensive guide.

Ultimately, the best alternative to UserZoom will depend on your specific needs, budget, and preferred testing methods. By carefully considering the pros, cons, and pricing options of each tool, you’ll be better equipped to choose the ideal user testing platform for your UX design projects. Keep in mind that most of these alternatives offer free trials or lower-cost plans, so you can test the waters before fully committing to a new tool. Explore these alternatives to find the right fit for your team and elevate your UX design process.